Marionnette: Meto
by SubtleLux
Summary: A sequel to my previous story about Meto. If you are a fan of Meto or Mejibray please read and enjoy, feel free to comment whether good or bad. I do not own Meto or Mejibray in any way and no disrespect is intended. Ami is the only orginal character
1. Chapter 1

Ami remained completely still so she wouldn't wake up Meto, who was still laying asleep beside her. Several months had already passed since they were first together, and at first she had been afraid that it had been a one night stand. The first time together she had woken up on the floor alone. She had spent the day mentally kicking herself for sleeping with someone who had never even spoken to her. But that night there had been a knock at the door and she had found Meto standing there, grinning at her over the rim of his winter coat. She had let him in of course and he had stayed the night and he was still there in the morning to Ami's delight. She had even showed her the other scars that she had laced on her body. The large scar on her right cheek wasn't the only one that she had. The mugger that had slashed her face had also taken a few swipes at her breast and stomach. Even though they were not as deep or noticeable as the one on her face, they were still deep enough to be noticed when she took off her shirt. Meto's eyes had grown large at the sight of the scars on her body, and had traced them with his fingers as if he was following a pattern. She hadn't minded, he wasn't being mean or judging her. It was a sad curiosity with which he traced the lines on her body. And his touch was delicate, almost like he wasn't even touching them. Then he had kissed them and smiled up at her, as if he meant to say that he didn't mind them, or perhaps thought they were beautiful. Perhaps it was both.

It had taken several days for him to even say anything to her, up until then he would just smile or motion at her to let her know what he wanted. She had been patient the whole time, never forcing him to say anything, content to simply be in his presence. When he did finally speak (he had asked if she wanted to go out for coffee) she had almost screamed. His voice was deeper than she thought it would be, but still quiet and childish. It suited him perfectly.

Even now he looked so peaceful in sleep, but she knew that he had nightmares. Sometimes he would cry out in his sleep or look as if he was angry for no reason. In those times he would reach out and hold her or his teddy bear. She wanted to ask him what he was dreaming about but was afraid that it would be too painful for him to talk about. So for now she stayed still and was content with watching him dream whatever it was that he was dreaming. When he started to stir in his sleep she knew he was beginning to wake up so she laid down and pretended to sleep. His stirring increased and he finally sat up in bed. Even with her eyes closed she knew he was looking down at her. She forced herself to keep from smiling. The bed shifted as he moved out from under the covers and she heard his feet hit the floor and the soft sounds of clothing being moved around and put on. She opened her eyes a crack, and in the darkness of the room could just make out his silhouette, his slim figure putting on clothes. She smiled then, and hoped that he didn't see it. He was being so quiet in his movements. Trying not to wake her up. She knew he had to go practice even at this early hour, but since he didn't have any clothes at her place he would go back to his own apartment and shower and get a change of clothes.

He finished dressing the moved to the door, but stopped and looked back at her. She was sure that he couldn't see her face in the darkness so she didn't bother closing her eyes. He tilted his head to the side, almost like he was thinking or about to say something, but then he turned and moved out of the bedroom and softly closed the door behind him. With the closing of the door she felt suddenly very sad, and wasn't quite sure why. She would see him again soon, either tonight or tomorrow, but she was oddly empty. Ami let out a soft sigh and moved over to the side of the bed where he had been sleeping and curled up with the pillow he had been using and tried to go back to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Ami had the day to herself, which in and of itself was a rare treat. She loved being with Meto but having some time to do things that she wanted to do, or even get some chores done, was something that she relished. Today nothing much had to be done. The small apartment was fairly neat, laundry was done and folded and put away, and the dishes were done.

Faced with the possibility of a long and boring afternoon on her own; she had called her friend Megumi and asked her out for coffee. Ami sat in front of her vanity mirror and carefully applied her makeup and styled her hair to cover the scar on her cheek as best she could. Still, no matter what she did it would always be noticeable. She just didn't want anyone to stare at her. Going through her closet she settled on something simple, a tight black graphic t-shirt with a short skirt, plus leggings to keep her warm and cover the other essentials. After adding a few pieces of jewelry she looked herself over in the mirror and was satisfied, only then did she grab her purse and leave the apartment.

The one great thing about living where she lived was that it was pretty close to everything. If it was not within walking distance then it was never more than a 10 or 20 minute train ride somewhere. The location where she lived would have been outside of her price range, but since her father was a business man with Tokyo connections (which was also the original home for her family before her father left for the states for his job) he had no qualms about helping his daughter move into a more luxurious apartment than one she could have afforded on her own. She had been reluctant to take his money at first, she was determined to make her own way, but after realizing her apartment options would be scare otherwise she had agreed to it.

And right now she was happy for it, for the café was just down the street and Megumi was already waiting for her. Sometimes she wondered if her friend could teleport. Her make-up artist friend was beaming as if she had been let in on a secret. Ami slowed her steps as she got closer. She had only recently told her friend about the time she was spending with the musician and she had immediately bombarded the girl with questions. Some she had answered but others she refused to tell for they were too personal. She realized she might ask her more about Meto today, but perhaps she could distract her with talk about something else.

She sat down and smiled at Megumi just as the other woman smiled at her mischievously. Megumi was slender and stunning as always, with purple extensions in her hair and her clothes skin tight but tasteful. She was already getting looks from several passersby on the sidewalk. "Megumi-san, thanks for meeting with me, I didn't know if you had the day off or not." Megumi shrugged and flagged down a waitress who took their orders and left. "I am actually glad that you called Ami-san, otherwise I would have been alone all day." She gave a small pout then laughed and winked at her friend. "So, any more news on your new special friend," Megumi batted her eyelashes playfully. Ami laughed and blushed slightly, "are special friends what they're calling these things now?"

The coffee arrived, along with some dango, and Ami sipped her coffee thoughtfully. "I'm not sure really, we see each other at least every other day. But he always sleeps over at my place and I never go to his, I'm not sure why. I don't know if I can even call him a boyfriend." Ami brushed her hair back from her face as she realized she hadn't thought to think of him that way before. To her he was Meto, and he didn't have any labels as far as she was concerned.

Megumi bit into her dango before answering. "I've never seen him be with a girl before. Well, at least with one for so long. He has had women around before but they usually disappeared after a few weeks or there was a fight and we would never see her again." Ami was surprised at this, not at the fact that he had other women (girlfriends or whatever they might have been) but that he was ever in a fight. She could never see him raising his voice let alone being angry enough to fight. Megumi watched her face before she went on. "Do you think he wants to be with you for a long time?" Again Ami didn't have an answer and she felt suddenly unsure. She would love to be with Meto for a long time, but with his profession that was probably not likely, and that realization saddened her. She hadn't thought about the fact that he might move on and find someone better. With the band becoming more famous each day the women around Meto would only increase. The thought should have made her jealous but she couldn't bring herself to feel it. With her scars on her face and body she knew there were millions of women prettier than she could ever be, or had been even before she was scarred. Wasting her time on feeling inferior because of her physical appearance was a useless thing. So instead she only shrugged. "I don't know Megumi-san, I want to be with him for as long as he wants me." Megumi nodded as well as she regarded Ami over the rim of her coffee cup.

They finished their coffee and dango and talked about whatever came to their minds. She sensed that Megumi wanted to ask her more about the drummer but she held her tongue. After talking for over an hour they did some light shopping. Megumi needed a new dress and Ami just went along to keep her company, but ended up buying a black and red Lolita dress that vaguely reminded her of Meto. Perhaps even now he was an unconscious inspiration for her even when she was clothes shopping. And still the thought lingered that one day Meto might leave her, and he probably would. It upset her more than she thought it would.


	3. Chapter 3

Ami didn't see Meto that day, or even the next day. Of course it happened like that sometimes. One day one of them would be free and the other would have to work, or their schedules would not link up. So three days later she saw Meto again at a photo shoot and her heart leapt at the sight of him. This photo-session was different from some of the previous ones that she had been too, for one it was outside, and secondly it was at night which was a new and welcome change of pace. She hadn't done any night photography before and she was itching to try her hand at some of the new techniques. Everyone had a new style this time around too. All the men in the band were more fashion savvy than she was, and no one changed hairstyles faster than Meto it seemed. Every week he had a new hair color, so half the time when she saw him she wouldn't know what to expect.

When Ami and Meto saw each other they grinned at each other. She waved at him but he was unable to wave back, his hands on a parasol and Ruana in his lap. He was back in a Lolita inspired street fashion, and he looked better in it than Ami could herself even though she was woman. She turned away and set up her equipment. Meto wouldn't be her subject today; she would need to focus on the others for tonight's photo session. Not that she minded, she had more photos of Meto than any other member of the band. And he was never afraid to be in front of the camera at any given time, she would have plenty of other times to photograph her favorite subject. She looked over at him one more time trying to catch his eye, but he was busy looking cute for someone else's camera. Pouting with his full lips and tilting his head to the side, somehow looking both innocent and sexy at the same time

Ami shrugged and walked over to Tsuzuku, anxious to try out some new lenses for the night shoot. He glanced over and nodded and smiled at her as she approached. "Hello Tsuzuku-san, are you ready to have your pictures taken?" He grinned at her and took another drag on his cigarette before snuffing it out on the concrete wall that he was leaning against. He was sporting a new look too, even though underneath he still worse his trademark fishnet shirt that showcased his sculpted torso and tattoos. In this dark light he looked paler than normal, almost like a ghost. "I'm always ready to have my picture taken Ami-chan." He walked over and propped himself up against some stairs and struck a pose, she laughed as she followed him. "You're being such a ham for the camera!" she clicked a few pictures and Tsu changed poses every time he heard the shutter on her camera click. "I'm not a ham; the camera just loves me that's all!" She laughed again and took perhaps a dozen more pictures before they changed locations. He pressed himself up against a glass building and tried to look sultry and disdainful all at once while she took his photo.

After she felt that she had taken enough photos, she hooked it up to her laptop so he could flip through the pictures and give her the final approval. It was easy to see which ones he would ultimately approve of, he would give either a small frown or smile as each picture passed by on the screen. It was very similar to what Meto would do if he found one that he liked, except that he would look her in the eye if he was really happy. Tsuzuku just kept his eyes locked on the computer screen. He only paused just long enough to light another cigarette from the pack beside him. Ami wondered briefly if any of the band members ever stopped smoking for longer than ten minutes. Tsu finally leaned back and stretched his arms above his head, stretching out his lean body to its full length. "These all look really good, except for a few, but there's nothing that I hate about them. I think you've improved your skills as a photographer a great deal," he said as he finally looked at her. She smiled back at him, genuinely pleased for the compliment. "Thank you, that means a lot to me actually." He smiled back and turned away, walking to a nearby chair and sitting down. "It looks like you and Meto-chan are spending a lot of time together recently." She tried not to look shocked at the abrupt statement but she knew she looked surprised. "Well…Meto-chan is a nice person, and he's fun to hang out with, I mean," she thought quickly to think of what to say next;" he's someone that I can get along with really easily." She stopped talking and looked down, realizing she probably sounded really dumb at the moment. The tattooed man just sat and looked at her curiously while he smoked his cigarette. After a few seconds she started to feel like a fish in an aquarium, being stared at by some passersby. "It's just that, since he is younger than me, I should say that you should treat him carefully. Other than that he is an adult and can do what he wants with who he wants." Ami looked up at him then, she didn't know what to think about what he said. She never had any intention of hurting Meto, certainly she would never hurt his physically, and she would try her best not to hurt him emotionally either. "You shouldn't worry about me, I wouldn't hurt Meto-chan." She almost added at the end that she wouldn't hurt him because she loved him. But was that true? Or was she just caught up in the initial rush of a new relationship, flattered by the attention that she was blinded to what she would really feel for the young drummer?

Tsuzuku smiled at her as if he was reading her mind and it was very disconcerting. She coughed loudly and cleared her throat to break the silence that she was afraid would become awkward. "So tell me what photos you think look the best from the shoot?" And at that they talked for perhaps ten more minutes, Tsu leaning over the laptop and choosing the pictures that he thought looked best. And Ami pointing to others that she looked better with her trained photographers' eye. Finally he seemed satisfied and hurried off to take off his makeup and change into something beyond his stage clothes. After she packed up her equipment and hoisted the bag onto her shoulder she looked around for Meto. But it seemed like the drummer had left without her, which was not unusual since neither of them were ready to admit openly that they were seeing each other (even though Tsu had already guessed as much), so often they would leave separately and meet up somewhere else. Still, she had a lonely feeling as she watched everyone say their goodbyes to each other and she was left standing by herself. Ami shook her head and finally started heading to her apartment, all by herself.


End file.
